So the rectangle of the cinema screen (which by this theory is supposed to represent the monolith) is basically indistinguishable from the rest of the room. Why did Kubrick use tapirs in the opening scene of 2001, given that tapirs never lived in Africa, where humanity has its origins? : Is it a mistake or does it have some hidden meaning? You are just seated in a pitch black room with eerie music playing. Why does 2001: A Space Odyssey start with a black screen?

9000, sets off on a quest. The film opens with a black screen whilst the faint sound of “Also spruce Zarathustra” composed by Richard Strauss plays in the background. Here astronaut Dave has decided he needs to deactivate H.A.L. Because the screen is completely black, you do not see anything.

A pivotal scene from the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. following this is an establishing shot, as a sun possibly not ours, rises over a planet which again may or may not be our own, as the sun rises the tempo of the audio picks up and a great feeling of triumph is created, as its a very powerful piece. Summary: Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. The original theatrical release had Ligeti's Atmospheres to a black screen for roughly 8 to 10 minutes before the movie began, and Strauss' The Blue Danube well after the end credits to a black screen. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick.The screenplay was written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, and was inspired by Clarke's 1951 short story "The Sentinel" and other short stories by Clarke.A novel released after the film's premiere was in part written concurrently with the screenplay.